By Aliyah Gabrielle Bautista – MAYOR Michelle Rabat of Mati City, the capital of Davao Oriental, has raised a P500,000 reward for the arrest of the killer of a barangay official of the city.
Rabat said the money will be handed to anyone who can provide information that will result in the arrest of those involved in the death of Matiao Barangay Captain Ronnie Valera.
Rabat earlier told TIMES that Valera “was treacherously murdered” as the latter was rsting on his hammock at the back of his house in Purok Matahimik-1 when the killer shot him at the back.
Rabat said she decided to give a bounty to informants as to encourage the public to work with the authorities for the resolution of the crime.
She committed the amount after the family of the victim sought her help so that they could get justice for the murder of their relative.
This developed as Gov. Nelson L. Dayahirang of Davao Oriental has formed a task force for the immediate resolution of the killing.
“Ang instruction ko, the soonest time possible dapat ma solve na ni. (My instruction was that I want this case solved as soon as possible,” said Dayahirang in an announcement posted on the official Facebook page of the province.
Among the members of the task force are the Philippine National Police, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Dayanghirang, chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council, also urged politicians in the province to stop bickering. “Ang politika isa lang na ka adlaw, so dili dapat mag-away-away ta tungod sa politika. After all, human sa politika, kita ra gihapo’y mag uban-uban. Kita gihapo’y magkita-kita. (Politics [elections] only happen in one day, so there is no need to fight because of politics. After the elections, we are still going to see each other and work together,” he added.
Rabat also told TIMES that Valera, her supporter as she seeks another term, would become the first victim of political killing during elections if proven that politics is the motive of the crime.
She also confirmed that the victim was a relative of another murder victim, Danilo Lumikid Jr., who was shot dead in Manay, a town about 70 kilometers from the city.
Valera even visited the wake of Lumikid, a political vlogger, she added.
On the killing of Lumikid, who was facing cyber libel cases, the police earlier denied that it was politically-motivated.
